Pause your scrolling! Many of us follow and consume digital content from a host of celebrities, artists and influencers whether through YouTube, Instagram or TikTok. Their messages (hopefully) give us a new perspective, a sense of community or maybe just a good laugh. Meet these five Southwest Washington social media influencers and content creators who are doing all that and more, reaching thousands or even millions of viewers from their home bases in Southwest Washington.

Meet These Southwest Washington Social Media Influencers:

John and Anni Furniss

Content Creators, Artists and Authors

• Instagram: @theblindwoodsman
• YouTube: @theblindwoodsman
• TikTok: @theblindwoodsman
• Facebook: John Furniss, The Blind Woodsman
• Website:  furnissstudios.com

John Furniss, also known as The Blind Woodsman, spends his days making art of the physical and digital variety with his wife, Anni, and their dog, Pickle. This is made even more impressive since, after a failed suicide attempt at age 16, John lost his sight and sense of smell. Facing mental health challenges, financial ruin and debilitating substance abuse, he fought his battles bravely into adulthood. He triumphed over his troubles with the help of a woodworking class dedicated to teaching the blind this new skill. Working in the medium invigorated him with a new passion.

Another love soon came to his life through his wife, Anni, whom he met one day while tuning a piano. Anni understood the challenges of navigating mental health and the healing power of art, and together, the two became a digital power couple. Anni, also known as “HoneyBee” to their followers, realized that social media could help and enrich people’s lives, and so together, they began to create inspiring content.

With over two million followers between Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, the Clark County couple uses their social media following to spread their love of art and awareness about blindness, mental health and the healing nature of art. They pull back the curtain on what it is like to be blind and the daily challenges John faces. Their videos also show John’s impressive, self-proclaimed amateur baker skills.

The couple has been featured on BuzzFeed, LADbible and even The Kelly Clarkson Show, but their fans were hungry for more. That desire for content inspired the Furnisses to write a book about their story. “The Blind Woodsman: One Man’s Journey to Find His Purpose on the Other Side of Darkness” (Fox Chapel Publishing, 2024) will be available nationwide next March. Between the pages, the couple chronicles their love and desire to help others. 

As artists, John and Anni also sell their beautiful creations on their website at FurnissStudios.com. However, getting an original Furniss piece takes a lot of work and patience, with most art pieces selling out within minutes of being posted online. 

The two Southwest Washington social media influencers are an inspiration to couples and artists everywhere, as each brings their own unique strengths to the marriage and to the brand. They manage a massive media following, while still showcasing the love that they have for each other and the art that they create. 

Learn more about John’s journey at VancouverFamilyMagazine.com/the-blind-woodsman.

Ryan Philbrook

Voice Actor and Video Content Creator

• Instagram: @ryanphilbrookvo
• YouTube: @ryanphilbrook
• TikTok: @ryanphilbrookvoiceover
• Facebook: Ryan Philbrook Voice Over
• Twitter/X: @RyanPhilbrookVO
• Website: theryanphilbrookshow.com

From his first upload on YouTube in 2006, Philbrook knew that digitally creating comedy was something he wanted to do for a career, but would the videos be enough to make a living? It wasn’t until a friend who started a video production company contracted him as a freelance scriptwriter and video editor that he realized it was time to leave his corporate job and start creating digital content full-time.

Collaborating with others proved successful and fun for Philbrook, but he still wanted more. In 2019, he made another significant step in his career when he began his next venture: voice acting.

One of his memorable gigs came around only a short time into his career. Philbrook had the opportunity to voice two characters in an animated children’s story called “But First We Nap” produced by Vooks narrated storybooks. The experience was heightened further when he shared the videos with his kids and saw their faces light up when they recognized his voice.

Since then, he has gone on to voice more animated children’s stories that can be heard worldwide and has provided his talents for major companies like Intel and Toyota. Philbrook also extends his skills to local companies looking to make their radio and television spots as professional as possible. Being signed to talent agencies in Los Angeles and Chicago, Philbrook continues auditioning and providing voices from his home studio in Southwest Washington.

His future goals include voicing national spots and video game characters. When he isn’t behind a microphone, he continues to exercise his comedic chops, writing scripts on TikTok and Instagram. In addition to funny skits, his TikTok channel is the place to go for all sorts of voice actor shenanigans and behind-the-scenes insights.

Karrisa Cardenas

Mental Health Digital Creator and Podcast Host

• Instagram: @karrisamarieofficial
• Facebook: @findingyourmindpodcast
• YouTube: @karrisamarie 
• TikTok: @karrisamarieofficial
• Website: karrisamarie.com

Karrisa Cardenas, of Longview, started sharing her mental health journey on Facebook in 2015. In the videos she shared, she told the stories of her struggles with depression, ADHD and anxiety. She took to social media at a time in her life when she couldn’t afford therapy and didn’t know who to trust or if what she was feeling was normal. It was an outlet for her to share what was on her mind and to see if there was anyone out there listening who could relate.

Not only were there people listening, but her message resonated with her audience in a big way. As the demand for her content grew on Instagram and YouTube, Cardenas also created a podcast called Finding Your Mind, which comes out every Wednesday. She has garnered such a committed group of fans that they call themselves the Finding Your Mind Community, and they aren’t shy about how they feel about her videos. Cardenas has received thousands of emails, messages and letters from people who thank her for normalizing mental health concerns.

While her goal was to reach younger people to let them know they were not alone, Cardenas says she gets letters from every age group. When her audience exploded during the COVID pandemic, Cardenas’s content went viral, being seen millions of times. It was then that she realized this was what she was meant to do.

As a multi-talented content creator, Cardenas writes and performs music for her audience. Cardenas’ songs tell the story of her struggles emotionally and melodically. Inspirational in every form, she works as an in-home nursing assistant during the day and then comes home to create content that teaches life lessons on mental health, cooking and fashion to a like-minded community that continues to support and lift each other up.

Cardenas continues to grow her audience, and one day, she hopes to accomplish her dream of arranging a meet-up so all her digital friends, who have grown so close to each other, can meet in person. Another big goal she hopes to achieve is to create a nonprofit around normalizing mental health. Until then, she welcomes those struggling into her community in the hopes that her stories will remind others that they are not alone.

Penny Tovar RN, BSN

• Nurse, Educator and Speaker
• Instagram: @pennytovar
• YouTube: @pennytovar
• Facebook: @CurlyPenny
• TikTok: @pennytovar

Penny Tovar was only 17 when her boyfriend (now husband) encouraged her to make YouTube videos. After much resisting, she gave in, and together they made a video. From that moment, she was hooked and began to make videos about curly hair care while finishing her last year of nursing school.

Tovar had long, beautiful, curly hair, and she wanted to show others how to take care of it with product ideas and styling techniques. Her channel exploded and caught the eye of the curly hair product company DevaCurl. They flew her out to New York for an influencer trip, and it was there she met other influencers who, realizing how much of a novice she was, began to teach her ways to monetize her content. With this new information, she began to be more strategic and frequent when it came to her content, and she quickly caught the eye of an agent and manager.

Social media soon began to pay the bills, but Tovar still wanted to become a nurse, a dream she had since high school.

Not only did she accomplish that dream, but she also made it her mission to help others get into the nursing field. She now works at PeaceHealth Southwest as an RN, is a pro-tem member of the Washington Board of Nursing and is the director of the Applied Medical Science program at Cascadia Technical Academy. If that wasn’t enough, she is also in the process of becoming a nurse aid evaluator.

Her social media looks a little different these days. After cutting off her hair and moving her content away from curly hair care, she began to share more of her life, talking about being a nurse and a member of the Latino/Latina community to her 800,000+ subscribers on YouTube and almost half a million on TikTok.

Still hilarious and compelling in her own videos, she also uses her skills to help the Washington Board of Nursing with their social media and to attract more representation in the program. Tovar credits social media with giving her a platform to use her voice and inspire the Latina community. She is now able to reach out to more people in underserved communities and use the skills she has learned in other areas of her life that she really cares about.

Privacy is something that Tovar is beginning to crave as she begins to envision a life away from the social media spotlight, but armed with her vast knowledge, she is using what she has learned to help other people and companies reach their goals.

Tyler Monk

Inspirational Storyteller

• Instagram: @the_underdogmentality
• Facebook: @the.underdog.mentality
• Twitter/X: @tyleremonk
• Website: theunderdogmentality.net

Fifteen years ago, Tyler Monk discovered that he had a natural gift of inspiring others, but he needed help figuring out how to deliver his message effectively.

He began to work on his craft as the director of a Clark County leadership and scholarship program called Ready to Rise, which helped young people transition from high school into college. This particular work was important to Monk, as he often shares in his presentations that he struggled academically throughout high school but eventually became a first-generation college graduate. Because of the nature of his position at Ready to Rise, he was asked to speak at many different events, so he started crafting his story and studying the art of public speaking to engage with audiences.

Using his past as a storyteller and musician, speaking in front of a crowd came naturally to Monk. From there, it was about gaining confidence as he transitioned his ability to inspire to his full-time career. A challenging conversationalist and inspirational storyteller, Monk is there to motivate and inspire people through fundamental topics and to create an inclusive environment and brave spaces.

Tapping into people’s potential is Monk’s specialty, but don’t come to him looking for advice because that’s not what he is about. Monk’s goal is not to “fix” anyone. He is more interested in your “why” and “why does it matter?” His approach is holistic in nature, and his goal is to uncover the true desires of a person or a company and help them decide if maximum effort is given to that goal.

Monk believes that the brain does not serve the best interest of the person sometimes, so he teaches others to combat negative self-talk, increase the verbalization of goals out loud, and surround themselves with people who will hold them accountable for those goals.

For him, growth is a life-long process, and social media has helped him spread his message. What once was a toxic place for him, social media has quickly become a conduit to spread his positive message. He knows that if you want to be a leader, you need to influence people, so being his authentic self is essential to him. If you are looking for a beautiful aesthetic with perfect lighting that many vloggers use, that’s different from what you will find with Monk. He points and shoots, and shares his message, and it’s that authenticity has connected him to his audience.

Monk shares his message freely on social media, so getting inspired to live your best life is only a click away, but he can be hired by organizations and companies to help environments that need a fresh eye. When he meets with large groups, he looks to create a link between the culture and the group’s vision and then curates a message to inspire a new way of thinking among the members.

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